JoJo: Strands of Fate
by SleepDeprivedFemale
Summary: Stone Ocean AU: As her world is ending, Jolyne uses the Requiem Arrow and changes history for the best -or at least as good as she can do. (A collection of oneshots set in a somewhat-optimistic JoJo AU)
1. Strands of Fate

**Everybody lives AU but with a twist. Namely it still gets sad.**

**Dio's mom is named Maria Brando because naming her Gaia would be too much.**

**Technically a Mudad (and Jonathan-dad) fic too but I'm not sweating the details.**

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

**Strands of Fate**

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Pucci won. The world was ending and being remade. A reset, he had called it.

'What a bunch of selfish bullshit,' Jolyne thought.

Around her, everyone was dead, dying, or worse. Her father, her friends, her allies, even some enemies. Even her uncles, - technically great uncle and great great probably-some-more-greats uncle - two odd men and powerful stand users, all defeated. Josuke's body laid broken - he had healed everyone but himself and that had been his Achilles heel, what had done him in. If he had been more selfless, if he hadn't tried to heal her dad and watched his back instead…

Giorno's stand had punched a clean hole in his physical body as if suicidal. "My resolve has faltered," had been his last words, oddly calm before he collapsed, with parts of his body oddly caving in or disappearing, leaving behind random trinkets.

Everyone had tried their best, but it was still not enough.

Something dug at her knee and she looked down. There was an arrowhead by Giorno's sleeve, pointed in her direction.

As the world around her was ending, Jolyne grabbed the arrow and stabbed her chest with it.

Her body unraveled, as did her vision and senses.

When Jolyne came to, she was facing the universe like an outsider looking in. She was no more than a collection of threads, able to appear at any time and any circumstance and change the course of the old -or new, but reality had been pretty fickle lately - world.

A part of Jolyne thought she should stop and think this through. Not just what changes she should make and how they would affect her and everyone else, but also the moral questions, the ethical dilemmas of doing so.

A bigger part of her screamed to just go for it, so she did.

…

Most of her strands break.

The body of a mentor lays cut in half, his white suit stained red.

A baby boy too young to understand what's going on attends his father's funeral while his mother runs from the law.

An elderly Japanese police officer collapses with a hole in his chest, dead.

A hand clutching a belt strikes a trembling curled-up black-haired child.

One by one, her strands break, each ending in its own tragedy. Yet the few remaining strands remain make all the difference in the world.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

It is by a stroke of luck that Maria Brando survives her fall down the stairs, exhausted from a long shift at the textile mill where she'd already lost a finger before. She would later claim that 'a bundle of threads, leftovers from her work' caught at the railing and miraculously broke her fall.

Nevertheless, the night Maria Brando barely avoids death was the night Dio realizes he'll have to kill his father.

Dio gets acquainted with Wang Chan. His poison works excellently and leaves no trace.

With his dying breath, Dario hands the two a letter, rambling about being owed a favor by a rich and powerful man. Dio scoffs at it, thinking his father was in one of his delirious drunken huzzahs before death finally claimed him, but his mother takes the letter and delivers it.

A week later George Joestar offers to take them in.

Dio's first instinct upon arriving at the luxurious Joestar mansion is to kick the slobbering mutt rushing at him. However, his mother -always observant- grabs his ear in advance and presses a firm hand on his shoulder. She doesn't hurt him -she never has, unlike his father- but it is enough of a scold that Dio tolerates the mutt circling around him, An oafish boy who cheerfully introduces himself as Jonathan Joestar rambles on about nonsense. Dio also tolerates the boy, merely plotting how to acquire this newfound money and power solely for himself and his mother, and not those undeserving fools.

JoJo and Dio's rivalry still developed to extreme lengths, with Dio being the perfect example of a reserved and obedient son, much to the parents' delight and Jonathan's suffering. Yet JoJo remains infuriatingly chipper, so Dio keeps going after him until he discovers the source of the Joestar heir's happiness, Erina.

Dio forces a first kiss between him and her. JoJo finds out.

Not only does Dio take a painful uppercut by JoJo in a newfound display of rage and power, but also his mum also gives him the worst scolding of his lifetime. Dio decides to clean up his act until a clear opportunity arises.

(In his fight with JoJo, blood splatters on the Stone Mask and spikes come out that would have pierced a person's brain resulting in instant death. Dio keeps that in mind, just in case.)

Years pass. He and JoJo are at the cusp of adulthood, about to graduate, and all Dio has is a faked friendship. No opportunity to claim the Joestar fortune has yet to arise, so he re-acquaints himself with Wang Chan.

Dio forces the opportunity to come by slowly feeding George the same poison that killed his father.

JoJo becomes suspicious and investigates. His mum may have been in the conspiracy, for she surreptitiously glances at Dio whenever she delivers George's medicine, allowing no one else to do after JoJo left, not even her own son. Dio makes more contingency plans, taking the Stone Mask to make sure his plan to take out the Joestar heir would work.

Dio's test backfires and he is saved by the blinding sun. Confused and desperate, he returns home to lick his wounds.

There is proof. There are policemen. There are guns pointed at him. There is a ridiculous man calling himself Speedwagon who yells that Dio is evil incarnate, signified by the three moles on his earlobe. JoJo looks at him in disbelief while supporting a feeble George. His mother's face is unreadable.

The policemen are riled up; the investigator is furious. JoJo tries to placate them but several guns are already pointed at Dio's direction.

The Stone Mask in his hands is heavy.

His mother steps in front of Dio. Her last look is one of utter disappointment and it makes Dio's heart ache, but she faces the police with a grave expression and demands her son receives a fair trial.

The investigator protests, George tries to speak up and everyone ends up yelling. A cop grabs his mother by his wrist to drag her away and for a second all Dio sees is his dead father doing the very same with a bottle in his free hand but Dio is no longer a helpless child so he goes on the attack.

The Stone Mask in his hand is warm.

There is a gunshot, as loud as a collapsing dam, ushering in countless more.

His mother falls to the floor. She's alive, but barely and not for long. Her good dress, the one she still wore despite all the better dresses she could now afford, the one his father insisted on selling just so he could get a few more pennies for booze, is bloody and torn beyond recognition. George Joestar's bullet-riddled body is on top of her, a useless sacrifice to protect her and Dio by extent.

The Stone Mask rests heavy on top of Dio's head. His body aches with the bullets that didn't stop at George or his mother ending up in him. He cannot move as his mother raises a bloody hand to stroke him for one last time, leaving behind a red trail.

The Stone Mask on his face is bloody.

The spikes pierce Dio's brain. His mother's hand falls limp. Dead.

…

Dio does not remember the next few hours very well.

…

Dio awakes with the sharp edge of the mansion's statue poking out of his stomach and Wang Chan's blood rushing through him. Around him, the Joestar mansion is a charred husk, but he disregards all that as he recovers the Stone Mask and his mother's body.

He keeps trying to use the Stone Mask on his mother but the bloody contraption refuses to work.

Time passes. After having secured a temporary stronghold and an increasing control over Windknight's Lot, Dio experiments. He must understand the Stone Mask is he is to use it at its full potential, if he is to find his Heaven.

Dio creates zombies. Other vampires. Subservient chimeras that would have even hardened practitioners vomit their last meal.

He calmly watches as a mother-turned-vampire devours her own infant child. She is one among many, all of them dramatically changing when turned into vampires.

Dio does not feel like he's changed at all. The only times he ponders the lack of change further is when glancing an ice-filled container, a preserver for his mother's body.

Wang Chan, one of the first vampires created by him and who seems to have changed little just like Dio, returns with news. JoJo has allied with a stranger called Zeppeli and with a newfound skill that can kill Dio. Since JoJo and his allies are drawing close, Dio creates a trap. The knights are hilariously easy to raise and to his side, and the Zeppeli man is too overconfident and falls into his icy trap. He would have liked to kill JoJo himself, but Dio still has to get the Stone Mask to work properly, so he leaves.

He should have expected Jonathan and that Speedwagon man would somehow survive this. The two are worse than cockroaches.

Even worse, though the Zeppeli man is gone, three of his disciples also show up and one of them manages dares land a hit. Dio would have made man's death slow and painful, but he still has to face off against JoJo.

Dio should have won. He should have been feasting on the last of the Joestars and finally embrace his grand destiny. Even if part of him knew that his mother could not be raised, that her death was not just a result of JoJo trying to ruin his plans, the extermination of the Joestar bloodline remains as a goal.

Yet in the end it is Dio, his body burned off by Hamon and only his head remaining, who's plunging off a cliff.

Wang Chan finds him. He cares and keeps him alive and makes promises of a new body. He takes him to the where JoJo buried his mother after finding Dio's preservation chamber.

Dio decides JoJo's body would be a perfect fit.

Years pass until Dio's plan comes into fruition and he once again faces JoJo. Erina is there too, but she is of no use -and therefore, of no concern.

Dio mortally wounds JoJo, but JoJo destroys Wang Chan once and for all and the idiot could not be thorough enough and now the ship is sinking -and on fire. JoJo has the audacity to hug him, as if Dio will die here and needs comfort.

_As if._

No, Dio will be victorious, finally. He will kill JoJo and take his body, take away everything from him, just as he'd planned. Then Dio would continue on his grand destiny and leave the Joestars behind, merely using them as a stepladder for grander goals.

Dio remembers George Joestar rushing in front of him and his mother. A useless gesture, but one he made nonetheless.

Being surrounded by the man, Dio can tell JoJo is dying and realizes he has enough essence left in him for one final vampire. Dio will have to perform the transfer and a quick, decisive cut simultaneously. A hard, nigh-impossible task for a disembodied head, but Dio cast away any notions of mediocrity the same night he cast away his humanity.

Dio makes a decision.

A century passes by slowly, but at least JoJo's helpless head is a comfort.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Even decades later, Caesar would insist that it was a hair-thin thread that pulled him and away from the falling cross-shaped debris in the mansion and to where Joseph and Lisa Lisa were.

Even decades later, Joseph think he's lying but is nonetheless glad that his friend is alive, even if he had to sit out all the… exciting events that ensued. In turn, Caesar does not believe that Joseph's victory over Kars was anything but pure dumb luck. Which is partially true.

Even decades later, Caesar joins him in his reckless journey halfway across the world to save his daughter.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Dio uses Jonathan's body unashamedly, as if it is his.

Jonathan can only look away from the men and women that enter Dio's bedchamber. The very few that exit only earn more worried glances. He can only grimace when Dio loudly regales his plans to eliminate the remaining Joestars -though Jonathan is surprised there are any left in the first place. His protests always fall on deaf ears, and over the years his voice has coarsened and weakened and all he can manage is whispered prayers.

Jonathan can only guess why Dio made him a vampire instead of letting him die. Was it an unintended side-effect of taking over Jonathan's body? If Dio's plan is to torture Jonathan, he must have been losing his touch. It definitely was not because of fondness, because if Dio held so much as an inkling of respect for Jonathan, he would be dead and blissfully unaware instead of trapped and powerless, mourning his long-lost humanity.

Dio talks to Jonathan occasionally and is the only one who bothers to interact in any meaningful way. It mostly consists of Dio talking as Jonathan cannot do so, but it is something. Vanilla Ice, one of Dio's servants, treats him like an object. The rest act like he's a trophy to be gawked at -though any that has dared lay eyes on him besides Vanilla Ice or that old unpleasant woman had met a swift death at the hands of Dio.

As the days turn into months, Jonathan feels his mind slowly breaking, but he refuses to show it.

Jonathan will end this.

It's already been a hundred years.

Jonathan must end this.

From what he can overhear, his descendants are making progress. The manor becomes quieter as more people leave than enter. There is a battle, but Jonathan is kept at a hidden chamber and can only listen to the screams and collapsing walls.

Finally, Dio leaves too and Jonathan makes his move. He knocks his head down and the rusted cage breaks on impact. He drags his head by his fangs until he finds a body, Vanilla Ice's, his head burned away by the sun. It is an immoral plan, yes, but his mere existence is immoral and it's been over a century and he must stop Dio at all costs.

The night air is cool and welcoming and though this body is new and awkward and smaller than he was used to, Jonathan feels as if he's being reborn. Definitely not as something better, but at least as something more maneuverable than a head.

There is a strong literal blood-thirst in him, but he refuses to even consider the notion. Judging from the giant clock tower, he will not have to, if his plan works.

The fight is easily located by the carnage and by the sight of a gigantic road roller being hurled over a bridge.

Jonathan's unnamed stand had been weak before, on account of being only a head. Even now it is significantly weaker than it should be, but it has an ace up its sleeve. Not only can it track the image of something or someone –'spirit photography' he hears the unpleasant old woman refer to it one time- it can also momentarily pause whatever it captures, and a moment is all Jonanthan needs.

The boy Dio is fighting against, and he is only a boy despite his gruff exterior, not even an adult yet, -then again Dio had been roughly the same age when he cast away his humanity- bears a striking resemblance of Jonathan. He is possibly a surviving member of the Joestar bloodline, but Jonathan doesn't have time to think about that. Fortunately, the boy does not intervene and Jonathan immobilizes Dio, grabs him and breathes.

The Hamon that courses through him burns his windpipe and Jonathan redirects it across his skin and into Dio's form as they both burn.

Unfortunately it isn't enough and Dio activates THE WORLD. Instead of attacking like Jonathan had expected him though, Dio is running away, or at least trying to since his legs are bleeding and dissolving into dust. Jonathan uses his Stand's vines to grab and drag himself to Dio, the two ending up in a weird tug-of-war and Jonathan can't help but remember all the times they wrestled together when they were younger.

Finally, Dio goes limp and Jonathan looks up at the brightening sky. It is over for them and he welcomes it, breaking into a wide smile and raising his hands like a child.

"The sun."

But its beauty is interrupted when an ethereal figure -the gruff boy's Stand- appears and begins pounding at the ground under them. The road collapses to a well-like structure which temporarily blocks the burning sunlight.

Jonathan is still, both mentally and physically. Dio does not move either.

"Jotaro Cujo. You must be Jonathan," the boy bluntly after Jonathan stares at him. He jumps in and looks between Dio and Jonathan. His body is stiff and bleeding and Jonathan has to wretch his eyes away from the free-flowing blood. "Gimme a break…"

Dio has covered his face with his hands and his body is trembling. Anyone would have mistaken the shaking for one of pain, but Jonathan recalls that one uppercut that'd thrown a much younger Dio across the room and had caused his body to shake in the same way as tears trailed down his cheeks.

Dio is crying.

"Again you've saved us." Dio's voice is low, clipped, and full of hatred, though most of it aimed at himself. "Why must it always be you?"

Their allies gather. A teenager around Jotaro's age. A young man with a gravity-defying white haircut carrying a tiny injured dog and supporting an older man with heavy robes and a pale expression muttering about 'a tiny thread that made Cream veer off course and saved my -our lives'. Most striking is a middle-aged man around Joseph's age bearing a resemblance to his old mentor Zeppeli. Jonathan is glad he gets to live long, unlike his ancestor.

Dio lays in the ground and makes no move to fight. Neither does anyone else.

Then Jotaro mentions something about Stands and his mom, and their relative silence is broken by more panic.

Teaching Holly Joestar-Kujo, his great granddaughter, Hamon breathing over the phone while Joseph is 'booking airplane tickets' is one of Jonathan's most surreal experiences. That Joseph had not taught it to her as a precautionary self-defense measure earned his grandson a grand scolding. He makes a mental note to also scold his great great grandson for smoking an absurd number of cigarettes while muttering what he is sure are Japanese curse-words. He keeps glancing at Dio who has slumped against a corner his face hidden by his hands.

Jonathan has ended this, just not in the way he expected.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Josuke stops trying to make sense of his family tree when he realizes he has a nephew that is about to finish his PhD. Then again, that's all there is to his family tree anymore; There are no other living members in his mum's side besides herself, but Josuke tries not to think about that too much. As Jotaro has told him, he couldn't have brought his grandfather back to life.

(Josuke shouldn't have let him die in the first place.)

Josuke meets his father, who is older than his actual grandfather, and decides this is about as weird as a family tree can get.

Then the vampire side of the family gets introduced; Jonathan, a good-natured if not naïve guy who can crush a man with a mere flex of his muscles and Dio, who apparently can only find joy in other people's suffering and who has every single lady and a surprising number of guys swooning over him. As the two -mostly Jonathan but Dio occasionally interjects with a snide remark- explain how they are related, all Josuke can do was nod his head and pretend he is following the Escherian mess that is the Joestar bloodline.

In any case, the scary blonde vampire takes care of Kira's dad, while the nice beefy vampire -who unfortunately does not speak Japanese, so Josuke has to put his mediocre English skills to use- saves Shigechi. So, even if Josuke's family tree has Victorian-era vampires in it, he doesn't mind.

A couple of years later Jotaro asks Josuke to restore a few torn photographs and documents as part of what his nephew calls 'another family emergency, give me a break', all while being on the phone on Jonathan who is yelling at someone -probably Dio- with Josuke only understanding fragments of "what if they're more?", "fifteen, so grown up already," and "it was my body so he's my child too for goodness' sake!"

Once again, Josuke adds another nonsensical dimension to the Joestar bloodline who at this point might as well have transcended their universe.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Giorno is standing against a crumbling stone wall overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea, letting the evening summer breeze calm his heart and steel his mind for his first encounter with Bucciarati's gang tomorrow morning.

(Even if he didn't pull the trigger, Polpo's blood is on his hands. As is Leaky-Eye Luca's, for it was Giorno who sealed his fate, despite Bucciarati being the one who technically killed him.)

Behind him stand two strangers and Giorno notices too late that they blocked any potential exit. He takes a step back as the men take a step forward. The blonde man has the same face as the one in his wallet, the only picture left of Giorno's father, the only thing close to a gift his mother had given him.

But it couldn't be. That man was long dead. His mother had told him so.

The other man has Giorno's eyes.

They introduce themselves as Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, as Giorno's fathers, and though that would normally bring up a few logistical questions Giorno knows it to be true. Their bodies are cold and Giorno can't passively detect life coming out of them but their embrace is gentle and he's hyperventilating, his mask more broken than he'd ever allow it to be.

A few minutes later the first family fight breaks out when Giorno explains his dream and the small but significant head-start he'd made on it, with Jonathan and Dio being increasingly horrified and delighted, respectively.

They finally decide that Jonathan and Dio to trail Giorno's group and slowly becoming a known presence. His fathers also mention that they're vampires, at which point Giorno asks if that's something that's inherited and Jonathan stares at Dio while the latter shrugs.

Well, no family was perfect. The same could be said about their plan to aid Giorno, which, as a result of an unexpected attack, ends up with Jonathan immobilising their assailant while Dio chucks a fountain at him.

A lot of explanations follow and Giorno nowhere near has all the answers, but Trish mysteriously takes a liking to his fathers so they unofficially join the group. Bucciarati is the most understanding. Mista cracks jokes as his way of caring.

Diavolo almost kills Trish and their plans radically change.

Jonathan shrugs off what was intended to be a fatal hit for Bucciarati, as he does a few days later for Abbacchio. Bucciarati already starts on a good foot with Jonathan and even if Giorno cannot fully read Dio yet, he thinks there is some tiny degree of respect between the two. Abbacchio begins to tolerate Jonathan, though does not extend the courtesy to Giorno, and the latter can't tell if Abbacchio respects or is terrified of Dio.

Trish is oddly uplifted by their presence, often ending up in Jonathan's lap as the two talk in hushed tones. Narancia must have gotten jealous because he tries to do something similar with Giorno's other dad, but Dio glares him away.

Diavolo targets Dio instead of Narancia, only for the latter to let out a booming laugh as he nonchalantly lifts his body off the spikes.

Diavolo is distracted by the two nigh-immortal beings, but the sun is about to come up. Just in time, Giorno grabs the arrow and fulfills his dream. Diavolo is…

(Not even Giorno is sure what happened to him, though he sometimes wakes up in a cold sweat with Diavolo's scream ringing in his ears.)

Another family fight starts after that, with Dio and Jonathan teaming up that Giorno needed to focus on school and go to university. Giorno argues that running a mob is a full-time job, Jonathan has a mild aneurism at the mere mention of Giorno taking over Passione while Dio makes snide remarks than any son of his should be able to handle both.

The night after is one long party before the work ahead. Fugo is found and rejoins as the Chief Strategist, while also tutoring Narancia -and occasionally Giorno when his workload becomes too much. Giorno gets a bachelor's in zoology and calls it quits education-wise. Passione is rebuilt and reigns over Italy.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Jolyne finds herself in her father's car, hair-thin strands retracting to her form.

She's here. She's alive.

… She's in Jotaro- her father's car after he bailed her out of jail. Which isn't supposed to happen. Not today, not…

But things have changed haven't they? She changed them. Everything is different now. Not perfect. Definitely not Heaven, as such a thing cannot exist for everyone. But it's something, or at least she thinks so. She certainly tried her best to make it so.

Maybe she's wrong.

"Be prepared for a scolding from Jonathan," her dad says, eyes focused on the road. "He already got me, but I think he'll get me again." He glances at her and all Jolyne wants to do is hug him, make sure his face isn't about to split in two again… "And he already knows I'm picking you up from jail."

"Is that what all he does? Scold people?"

Her dad shrugs. "Most of it is earned."

An hour later, Jolyne enters a full house. Some of these are blood relations. Some are not, but are family nonetheless. A not-insignificant amount are family friends. All of them stuffed in a house that is too small, with not enough couches and way too many triggers for an all-out brawl. From the kitchen, someone is yelling at French that there are too many cherries.

She takes a step inside and Josuke grabs her by the shoulder, Giorno grasped firmly on his other side. "Welcome to the bastard club!"

"She's not a bastard," her dad cuts him off and looks to Jolyne with a comically serious expression. "You're not a bastard."

Giorno has already slipped out Josuke's grasp and is refilling his glass of wine.

"None of you are bastards, who called you such?!" comes Jonathan's voice as he parts the crowds.

"I was making a joke great gramps…" Josuke says, scratching his cheek and giving Jolyne a playful nudge before retreating to the kitchen.

Jonathan looks like he's about to follow him, but pauses when Dio picks up his phone, gives monosyllabic answers and a quick 'I'll see you soon' before putting it away.

"Pucci," Dio quickly says as Jonathan leans close. Jolyne freezes at the name before reminding herself that the old Pucci was dead and reborn, as were all their old selves that only she remembered.

"And?" Jonathan insists. He is way too close to Dio, and his expression is unnervingly serene.

Dio looks straight ahead, face blank. "I may have a few more sons."

Jolyne can't help but laugh at the ensuing chaos.

**\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/**

**Some headcanons about Jonathan's Stand:**  
**Jonathan's Stand (THE PASSION), along with Spirit Photography, has a similar effect as to THE WORLD, only that it stops time for the targeted person/object. The duration of which something is frozen in time is on par with THE WORLD's. It manifests as a vine-like form (similar to the vines Giorno manifests only purple-colored) and grows to Cthulhu-ian dimensions when Jonathan's angry. As to why DIO couldn't use that in canon is because the Stand was foreign so he couldn't unlock its full potential. The Stand's time-stopping powers because would fit with Jotaro manifesting STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD, since biologically related people's Stands occasionally have similar powers. For DIO, I assume the changing bodies affected his Stand as well and made it have an effect similar to JoJo's.**

**Please consider leaving a favourite (or even better a review) if you enjoyed this. I'll post more chapters here if I write more in this AU but i already have too many things going on so that's a big IF**


	2. To Seek Heaven

**Twelve-year-old Dio has a conversation with his mother about his misdeeds, the Joestars, fairness, and ultimately has a revelation about himself.**

**\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/**

**To Seek Heaven**

**\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/**

Dio is still nursing his cheek, still throbbing after JoJo's uppercut, when his mother's voice echoes through the hallway.

"_Dio Brando_."

Dio is not the kind of person that gets intimidated. Scared, sure, but only as an involuntary reaction of an imperfect body and a developing mind, something he has decided he will grow out of. However Dio will never fear _someone_, never again, his piece of shit father being the last person who had elicited such a reaction, and for that -and many other reasons- he ended up six feet under in a shallow grave.

Yet, his mother's firm voice makes his knees weak.

Their eyes lock and she grabs him by the ear, the gesture more humiliating than painful. Dio tries to resist, childishly and foolishly so in recollection, but all Maria Brando has to do is glare and Dio is dragged along to his room.

Once they're inside, his mother closes the door behind her. Her usual calm and timid expression has given way to a stony mask. The curtains are drawn and the setting sun casts a soft light over her, like one of their church's angelic statues.

Still, Dio huffs as he rubs his earlobe. "If this is about my fight with JoJo, you're overreacting, mother." His cheek still stings. "Though that idiot has a strong hook."

Her gaze lands on Dio's face and softens for a second before sobering back. "And is that all there is to it? You two boys decided to fight for no reason?"

Dio scoffs again. "JoJo's a brute."

"And Mr. Joestar will discipline him for that," his mother says as she crosses her arms.

Dio suppresses a smirk, thinking back to George's 'discipline', made almost entirely of a long cane and empty plates. No matter how noble George Joestar views himself or his family, deep down they all were the same senseless animals. The discipline of the upper classes is no more thanrefined version of the bottles Dario threw at him. It's a shame Dio won't be able to hear JoJo yell.

"And, I've told Mr. Joestar that as your mother, I should be the one to discipline you."

The rest of his mother's words catch up and Dio's joy evaporates. His mother had never hurt him, even for so-called discipline, but Dio was no longer a small child, and admittedly his most recent plan had gone haywire…

"Seems reasonable," Dio manages to let out. Even if she loves him or not, his mother believes in notions of fairness. Still, she has little capacity for physical violence, so JoJo should still be worse off.

Dio's fists clench and he can't bring himself to look up at ismother, but he refuses to let any emotion cloud his face. "Go ahead."

The shadow of her hand looms over him and Dio squares his shoulders in anticipation.

A gentle hand is on his back and Dio is pressed against his mother, her bony neckline digging against his cheek through the thin fabric. His mother's hand paths his back while the other slides through his hair, softly untangling it.

Dio blinks and looks up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm disciplining you in the way I see fit," she hums. "We are talking, and I want you to be honest and comfortable with me Dio, not sc-" she cuts herself off and clears her throat, "closed off."

Dio holds back a triumphant laugh. Of course she wouldn't hurt him, what was he thinking? Of course he'd get off scot-free, his mother was smart and caring and on Dio's side-

His mother sighs and let go of the embrace. "I know what happened with Erina, Dio."

Dio mentally pauses and narrows his eyes. "How?"

"The boys. They're terrible gossips." Despite her teasing tone, her face is one of disappointment. "You shouldn't have dragged an innocent girl into this rivalry of yours."

Dio scowls. "I didn't drag her into anything. She realised my plans yet chose to oppose me anyway." The memory of her washing her mouth with mud-water resurfaces and Dio's cheeks flare up with the same emotion he couldn't quite place when JoJo hit him. "Serves her right."

His mother's face sobers up. "You cannot mean that."

"I do," Dio shots back, sounding more petulant than he'd wished.

His mother narrows and finally closes her eyes with a sigh. "It seems you haven't realized." When she opens her eyes, they look down on Dio in disappointment, though one not directed at Dio particularly as if he couldn't help but do whatever caused such a reaction.

Dio grows frustrated.

Her next words are even and firm. "Erina plays by different rules than you and JoJo."

As if putting down the last puzzle piece and standing back to examine the finished result, Dio stands up straighter and blinks. So that is why his mother's point of contention seemed to be focused on Erina, of course. They were the same rules that had his mother chained to Dario, that even in his death his filthy surname persisted. Dio is glad he was born a boy so he doesn't have to deal with even more of that bullshit. That his mother has done so this far was only a testament to her perseverance.

"You may not see it an anything important, but what you did will hurt her in more ways than one," his mother continues.

Still, Erina defied _him_.

"What, so she'll have rumors about her? She'll live."

"Oh, so the rumors about me being Mr. Joestar's secret mistress are so unimportant as well?"

"That's-" Dio cuts himself off, enraged. "Who said that?!" A terrible thought comes to him. "If he's trying to take advantage of you I will-"

"He's not," his mother cuts him off, and her firm tone ends any argument on the topic. "But what were you about to say you would do?"

Their eyes lock again and Dio recalls he has no idea if his mother suspects him of Dario's untimely demise. Throughout all these years she called his sudden death a tragedy in public and an inevitability in private. She obeyed all the customs a widow should, but Dio had never seen her shed a tear for the man. At the funeral she reassured Dio that this was not the end for them and that he should look forward to the future, seemingly innocuous and vacuous phrases, yet who would still be oddly fitting if she was aware of Dio's murder.

Dio looks away. "Whatever I have to."

A few seconds pass, but eventually his mother's hand lands on his shoulder again, giving it a slight gentle squeeze. "My point was that the same people who will gossip about me will gossip about Erina. The rumors that will spread about her will be as unfair as the ones about me, especially considering you are the cause behind the former."

In the end, all Dio can do is nod.

"Good. You will make amends, and you will mean it. Oh, and you will make sure than anyone else who saw it will not go about spreading rumors, alright?"

Dio crosses his arms. "That'll just make more rumors than I'm her knight in shining armor."

His mother pats his head with a wry smile. "You're a crafty boy, you'll figure something out."

"Fine. I will mother," Dio concedes, dragging each syllable.

His irritation flares up again and he realizes he's been growing frustrated with his mother with increasing frequency. To Dio it wasn't a childish frustration JoJo often expressed with his father, but one stemming from unfulfilled potential, his won brand of disappointment.

His mother is smart. Intimidating. She can glare Dio down. She has strength, yet she chooses to act weak, to hide it away and suffer instead of using it for her own ends. Maybe it's because of those so-called rules, or because she genuinely dislikes violence or some unholy combination of the two and so many other potential factors, but in the end, it is what is is. Dio cannot understand it and he wishes he never will.

"Is that all? I'm tired. And hurt." Dio rubs his check and flinches, exaggerating the pain.

His mother's face softens as she studies his face. "Oh dear, it's gotten quite red. Give me a moment, I'll grab some medicine…"

The next few minutes are spent in silence as she dabs some rubbing alcohol on his inflamed cheek, eliciting a genuine hiss when it drips on a few still open scratches.

As his mother gently pats down the inflated region, she sighs again. "I still don't understand the rivalry you and JoJo have," she says conversationally. "Mr. Joestar claims that's just boys being boys, but you never… You're smarter than that."

Dio holds back a remark that of course he's smarter than JoJo. It will only irritate his check further.

"JoJo is an oaf and a fool. He infuriates me." Dio makes sure he pronounces the fancier words correctly and clearly. One of his goals after all is to learn more of them, to learn how to string them together and keep practicing until his silver tongue can make a poet's knees weak.

"So you decide to taunt him?" his mother asks. "Jonathan doesn't strike me as a troublemaker."

"And I do, mother?" Dio shoots back with mock hurt.

She pats his head. "You certainly have the capacity for it."

Not quite the answer Dio is looking for.

"JoJo's a spoiled brat. If I let him, he'd walk all over me."

"Jonathan doesn't strike me as that type of boy. He takes after his father, and Mr. Joestar and I have been getting along very well too. They're both very kind."

Dio rolls his eyes. His mother's lionization of George is another source of irritation. "If 'Mr. Joestar' were such a kind man, he wouldn't be rich in the first place." Dio's merely parroting the sentiments of small contraband newspapers distributed by so-called agitators and trade unionists, curious of how his mother will respond to that and how her sense of justice would make sense of such an apparent hypocrisy.

His mother just sighs. "No one is perfect Dio, but what matters is that they try."

"Clearly not hard enough," Dio eggs her on.

"… It's not a fair world out there, which is why we have to try our best," his mother eventually says, her expression reverting back to her typical kind one. "It's why I am trying my best." She looks past Dio and to the darkening horizon outside the room's window. "Heaven is but a dream unless we try."

A renewed wave of bitterness surges over Dio. His mother's best hadn't been enough to get rid of Dario. Not enough to get them out of the streets. It was a combination Dio's worst and sheer dumb luck that got them into the cozy Joestar mansion, and even then they have to be careful. His mother has to navigate the social hell of a poor widow being taken in by a rich and widowed so-called gentleman, whereas Dio has to be the impeccable son lest a worst fate than JoJo's disciplinary session befalls him. Her dream of Heaven will remain a dream thanks to her inaction, her self-limiting rhetoric.

It strikes Dio that this is something he and his mother will fundamentally disagree on for their rest of their lives. Part of him shivers with dread but a bigger part of him fells renewed as if he'd shed a suffocating cocoon. A part of Dio has been broken off, like the first time he'd ventured out on the streets without his mother's reassuring hand. The independence and opportunities that had come with the new territory had far outweighed the dangers and Dio doubts this will be any different.

"I will," Dio tells his mother as a half-truth.

She gives him a satisfied smile, pats his head again and bids him goodnight. Dio watches her walk away before turning back to the window. The sky has gone pitch back.

Dio lies back in bed. He should be making plans, about Erina and his mother's demands, about JoJo, about the Joestar fortune, yet his thoughts circle back to a single and functionally-useless topic.

Dio will do his best, but not to die trying to bring about a universal utopia. He will make his Heaven real and God help anyone who stands in his way.

**\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/**

**Like before, I may post more about this AU so consider following this story if you'd like to be notified, even if it's listed as Complete.**

**As alwasy, feedback is appreciated.**


	3. Crazy Noisy Bizarre Ancestry

**Koichi thought Josuke's family couldn't get any more bizarre. Then he meets the vampire side of the family.**

**(The Morioh gang meet Vampire Dio and Jonathan. It all goes downhill from there.)**

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**Crazy Noisy Bizarre Ancestry**

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Koichi gulped as he followed Josuke and Okuyasu to Morioh's intercity bus station. Josuke had told them Jotaro had asked him to come over, which wouldn't be too strange if it was not for the fact it was midnight.

"The city's so quiet…" Okuyasu said as Koichi suppressed a yawn. Thank goodness it was Friday. "It's like a ghost town…"

"Don't say that!" Josuke said soon after, his loud voice breaking the monotony of cicadas and other night insects chirping about. "I didn't know buses came this late."

"I don't think they do…" Koichi trailed off.

The bus station came into view, a weathered shelter and lonely pole with a large broad-shouldered man standing by it.

When Jotaro noticed them approach, he put out and threw away his cigarette at a nearby trashcan. As they came closer, the man's gaze fell to Okuyasu then to Koichi. "I only invited Josuke."

Koichi gulped. That's not what Josuke had told them.

Josuke stepped forward. "Hey if it's about finding the killer, Koichi and Okuyasu come with."

"Hell yeah bro!" Okuyasu added and the two high-fived. "That's what we're here for, right?"

Koichi smiled nervously at Jotaro about his friend's antics. The man merely sighed.

"I called you here because there's some people you should meet."

Josuke looked back to Jotaro and frowned. "Who are they?"

After another lengthy pause from Jotaro, an idea popped into Koichi's mind. "Are they family?" he wondered out loud. Was that why Jotaro only wanted Josuke to come?

Jotaro lowered his hat. "Arguably."

Josuke frowned, Koichi following suit.

"I'm not happy they're here either," Jotaro began, his tone more appropriate for meeting an old nemesis than a family member. "They both usually cause more trouble than they're worth. But they found out about the stand situation here and one of them insisted on coming."

"There's two of them, but only one of them wants to come?" Josuke asked.

"They come as a pair. Wouldn't be safe otherwise." Before Koichi could ponder the levels of ominousness coming from Jotaro, the man continued: "Oh, and they don't speak Japanese, so we'll switch to English."

"Damn…" Okuyasu grunted. "I'm no good at English…"

"Yeah, I can't speak it well too…" Josuke agreed.

The two turned and stared at Koichi.

"Eh?" Koichi put his hands up. "I'm not that good either!"

"But you aced the last test bro!" Okuyasu said.

"Only because of Yukako's torture..." Koichi trailed off as two shapes appeared a small distance away from the bus station, heading towards them.

From stature alone, the two strangers were definitely related to Josuke. They were as tall as Jotaro, though even wider, somehow. As they come closer, Koichi made out one of the man's features, his square jaw and kind expression solidifying his relation to Josuke. The other's face stayed hidden in shadow, Koichi only making out a wild mess of blonde hair.

"Hello!" the kind-faced man greeted them in heavily accented Japanese. A small English-Japanese translation book was clutched by his side, its pages weathered and full of bookmarks.

The other man stayed back, still hidden in shadow. Koichi didn't dare stare too long to where the shadowed man was, as a feeling of dread surrounding him like fog.

"You must be Josuke!" the kind-faced man continued in stilted Japanese syllables and extended a hand. "I am _Jonathan Joestar_! But, you can call me _JoJo_!" he continued, his own name coming out more fluid as he switched to English pronunciation.

"Pleasure to meet you," Josuke replied in Japanese out of habit. Just as when he was about to repeat his words in English he frowned and crossed his hands. "Wait, your last name's Joestar? What are you to my old man?"

Jonathan scratched his head and helplessly looked back to Jotaro.

Jotaro sighed and began translating Josuke's words to English. Jonathan nodded in thanks, but his expression froze halfway when Jotaro translated Josuke's second question.

"Ah... It is…" Jonathan begun in Japanese, frowned then looked back at Jotaro, switching to English: "_You haven't told him_?!"

"_No. Not my problem_."

"Oi, _what are you two saying_?" Josuke spoke up, his own English coming as stilted as Jonathan's Japanese. He pointed at the other person still obscured by shadows. "_And who is the second guy with you_?"

As if summoned, the man took a step forward, revealing a frame as massive as Jonathan's, dwarfing even Josuke, and a face as beautiful as it was terrifying. Human eyes weren't supposed to glow yellow, were they? Yeah, it was probably a trick of the light…

"_Dio_," the man said in a deep baritone as he kept studying Josuke's face, and Koichi pointedly ignored the glimpses of sharp canines. He swore he'd heard the name 'Dio' before.

A second passed and Josuke broke eye contact with Dio —Koichi couldn't blame him, he doubted he'd last a second under that burning gaze. Koichi looked back to see Jonathan and Jotaro staring at Dio, the latter with his eyes narrowed and Star Platinum shimmering behind him.

Koichi's heart pounded in his chest. Was Dio dangerous? If so, why was he here with Jonathan?

"_I was told we would only be meeting Joseph's bastard," _Dio spoke up, still staring at Josuke, making Jonathan flinch as Josuke's eyes narrow. The insult was easy enough to understand in any language. "_Who are the other two brats?_"

Dio's gaze fell to Koichi and his knees went weak, barely holding back the urge to duck behind Josuke's leg like a child. Next to him, Okuyasu slumped further like a caged animal…

"My friends. Got a problem with that?" Josuke, like the guardian angel that he was, stepped in front of Koichi and Okuyasu, standing at full height against Dio. He barely reached Dio's chin.

Dio smiled and there was something predatory, hungry, underneath it like a wolf staring at a foolishly brave lamb. Koichi gulped and reached out for Josuke's jacket, as if he could pull his friend away from the maws of a beast.

Dio's smile was somewhere between amusement and annoyance. "You have your father's spirit, I'll give you that." Koichi should have expected that someone like Dio would know Japanese, but the switch surprised him anyways. "It almost cost him his life. Make sure it doesn't cost yours."

Koichi had never heard a barely disguised threat sound so pleasant but as it turned out the world was full of dreadful surprises, most of them apparently clustered around the Joestar family.

To Josuke's credit, he merely tilted his head at Dio's words. "Oh, so you know my old man? Are you his nephew or something?"

Dio's grin returned and Josuke's cool facade faltered, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Enough chitchat." Jotaro stepped between the, though he was turned to face Dio, returning the latter's stare with a barely concealed glare of his own. Star Platinum still shimmered behind him. "There's a lot to explain and some of it is sensitive information," he said, first in Japanese, then English. "Let's walk-"

"Wait," Okuyasu spoke up, surprising Koichi. He had almost forgotten his friend was with them, as he had been so quiet. "You said your name's Dio, right big fella?"

"That was a while ago…" Koichi murmured but paused in recollection and looked up at Okuyasu. He remembered where he'd heard Dio's name before. "Wait, you don't think..."

Dio crossed his arms, his gaze switching from threatening to confident. "Oh? You've heard of I, Dio, before?"

Okuyasu's fists clenched and unclenched. "Are you the Dio who had the Stand arrow...?"

Koichi's eyes widened. That couldn't be true, the Dio with the Stand Arrow had been a villain and Josuke's family was bizarre but not villainous...

Dio's smile widened. "It's among my many exploits-"

Okuyasu lunged at Dio. "It's you, asshole-!"

Koichi merely blinked. Next thing he knew Dio had lifted Okuyasu in the air by the neck. Above them the hands of Okuyasu's Stand were held tight together by another stand's single hand, the latter giant and gold, exuding the same powerful aura as Star Platinum. Jotaro's stand had been summoned as well, clutching the other hand of Dio's Stand while sharp ethereal vines —Jonathan's stand?— had wrapped around Dio's legs and lower torso, tight enough to draw blood.

Dio clicked his tongue, unfazed by Okuyasu's confused thrashing and surround chaos. "_Goodness you two are trigger-happy. I merely immobilized him, didn't I?"_

"_Let him go, Dio_," Jonathan's voice was unnervingly calm, and Koichi couldn't help but notice that Jonathan's eyes were also strange and slightly luminescent, and that both their nails were blackened and elongated like a falcon's talons…

With a tsk, Dio let go of Okuyasu, his hand still extended high as the boy fell below him, gasping for breath but getting to his feet moments after. "You piece of-"

"Okuyasu!" Josuke grabbed his shoulders, barely holding back a haymaker aimed at a nonchalant Dio's jaw. "Calm down."

"But he-!"

"I know," Josuke insisted, and Okuyasu gritted his teeth but stood down, still glaring daggers at Dio.

After making sure his friend wasn't about to do something homicidal again, Josuke turned to his relatives. "You three have a lot of explaining to do."

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

"_... And ever since then, Dio and I have been travelling the world_, _and we're here since my stand can help out with your investigations_."

Jotaro finished his translation of Jonathan's retelling with a "Good grief," and a lit cigarette.

Koichi's mouth hung open, even after Jotaro's narration finished.

Woah. Where to begin?

First of all, vampires.

Next, ancient Victorian era vampires.

Did Koichi repeat the vampire bit?

Next to him, Josuke was silent. Koichi couldn't imagine what was going through his head.

After a few more seconds of silence, Josuke pointed at Jonathan. "So basically, you're my great granddad?"

Koichi choked on air. "Eh?! Is that all you got?!"

Following Jotaro's translation, Jonathan nodded vigorously. "_Yes, and I'm so sorry we didn't visit you sooner, but we didn't know you existed what with the whole cheating scandal— Oh but don't worry, you're part of the family nonetheless, and any anger I have at your father's infidelity is between me and him alone_-"

Jotaro gave a long look as Jonathan continued his ramble. "He welcomes you to the family."

"So…" Okuyasu spoke up and Jonathan went silent. He had barely spoken up during Jotaro's narration, either staring at Dio or at his own hands. "_You can heal my dad, right_?" he slowly asked in English.

Jonathan glanced at his adopted bother. "_You should be able to, isn't that right, Dio_?" He asked, a bit too forcefully.

Dio shrugged. "It's not a question of ability, but one of desire."

Okuyasu frowned. "Hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Say I 'heal' the man. Return him to what he once was. Would that be an improvement?"

Okuyasu jumped upright. "Of course it would! The way he is right now…"

Dio tilted his in interest.

Okuyasu hesitated. "He is…"

"Was he a good man before? A 'caring' father-?"

"_Dio_," Jonathan spoke again in a low tone. "_What are you saying_-?"

"_Merely stating facts_," Dio said with a dismissive gesture before turning to Josuke. "The men under my employ back then were hardly paragons of virtue."

Koichi had no trouble imagining that. He still couldn't understand why Dio hadn't been killed after Jotaro had shielded Jonathan from the sun. It had been Jonathan's decision, but Koichi couldn't believe there was someone kind or foolish enough to forgive Dio, and Jonathan didn't seem like a fool.

"It's…" Okuyasu made a false start. "My dad, he…"

"All I am saying is that people often construct false utopias of the past." Dio's voice had no right to be that soft, that comforting. It was a front, Koichi could tell so in his guts, but an illusion that calmed his mind nonetheless. "And too often, they let their wishes overshadow reality."

"Don't listen to him, Okuyasu," Josuke spoke up, patting his friend's back. "Getting your dad back is what you've wanted all this time, right?"

"I…" Okuyasu's forehead was lined with wrinkles. "I need time to think..."

Koichi's eyes widened. No way! Okuyasu had such a big change of heart from a simple exchange?

As Okuyasu stood up and walked away to get some space to himself and Jotaro and Jonathan talked about accommodation, Koichi kept stealing glances at Dio, fearing every time that their eyes would meet.

He couldn't help but think whatever evil presence lurked in this town had found its match.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

Koichi was going to die at his favourite mangaka's house. Who was a Stand user. And who was somehow stealing his memories and killing him via tearing out manga-formatted lifeforce.

It would be a bit funny if it wasn't so horrifying.

Yet as despair threatened to completely overtake him and completely numb his body, he spied a man walking by the road, a familiar hulking frame of messy blond hair, sipping a suspiciously red liquid from a straw in an antique flask.

"Mr. Dio! Help!" Koichi croaked, hoping his weakened scream would reach the road below.

Evidently it did, as the man paused and looked up where Rohan was trying to wrestle Koichi back in by a barely attached manga page.

Rohan's and Dio's gazes met. Koichi's heart threw away some of the despair for elation. He was saved!

Not breaking eye contact, Dio took a bigger sip of his flask and took out a flip-phone. He made no move to approach and Koichi's previous despair returned. Did he stay away because he couldn't win?

Rohan extended a pen in Dio's direction. "Heaven's Door-!"

"MR. DIO-!" Koichi yelled in warning but cut himself off when Dio seemingly _teleported_.

Koichi blinked. Somehow Dio had moved himself away from the attack, barely sparing a glance at Rohan's now disoriented stand. Rohan himself gasped the scowled.

Koichi's mood swung back to hopeful. Dio's Stand power was unknown to Koichi, but he had easily evaded Heaven's Door attack! Fighting back against the Strand and its owner should be a piece of cake!

Not bothered, but still not breaking eye contact with Rohan, Dio speed-dialled a number and brought the phone to his ear, pinkie extended.

A few painfully long seconds passed.

"_Hello Jonathan. A friend of your family's bastard seems to be in some trouble. Some kind of Stand user."_ The voice from the phone came louder and Dio raised an eyebrow. "_Yes, I'm there_." The voice continued and Dio's lips upturned into a smirk. "_No, of course I'm not doing anything about it. You and Jotaro would disapprove and you know I care _so much…" Dio spared a glance a Koichi. "_You should hurry, I think the brat has does not much time left. Best regards."_

Jonathan's frantic voice was still talking as Dio nonchalantly closed his phone, took another long and loud sip from his flask, and promptly walked away.

Rohan glanced at Koichi who was desperately trying to reach out to the man walking away into the distance.

"_MR. DIO_!"

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**Though Dio in this AU has teamed up with the Joestars doesn't mean he lets go of his villainous streak -just that it is suppressed most of the time, courtesy of Jonathan. At the finale of Part 4 Dio would definitely try to be as unhelpful as possible ('Oh, I did hear a child screaming about a murderer but I didn't think it was relevant,' and 'I could easily kill the serial killer and end this whole charade but what about the character building? The drama? Kids these days barely face any challenges JoJo, this is a good learning opportunity-'). This of course would be in stark contrast to Part 5 where Giorno's self-destructive tendencies are barely held in bay by an increasingly frustrated Dio ('Why do you have to sever your own arm, son, JoJo is ****_right there,_**** ask him to do it!' and 'Your Stand's healing abilities are no reason you should put yourself in needless danger, no I will not hear what you have to say about me and The World-' ) **

**TLDR:**

**Josuke: *gets punched through a wall***

**Dio: lol owned**

**Giorno, about to cut his leg off: I'm gonna do what's called a pro-gamer move**

**Dio, tired and activating The World: Goddammit Giorno**

**(Crack) Headcanon: Jonathan (and to a lesser extent Dio) treat phone calls as letters. Jonathan will always start a call with "Dear [name]," and close a call with "Yours respectfully, Jonathan Joestar," forever confusing any poor soul daring to call him. Dio isn't that stuck and could probably imitate a modern conversation pattern, but still falls back to old habits, usually when around Jonathan.**

**As always, thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	4. An Immovable Goal

**Giorno Giovanna has a dream and a plan. Jonathan Joestar likes the dream, but not the plan. Dio is, as always, no help at all.**

**Alternative Title: The misadventures of Giorno Giovanna and his vampire dads.**

**Dio is nowhere close to a good guy but at least in this AU he becomes slightly less of a dick to a very small amount of people and has settled his feud with the Joestar bloodline (though he still kicks puppies for fun). He and JoJo act like an old married couple.**

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**An Immovable Goal**

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"—and that is why I must kill Passione's Boss and assume the position myself," Giorno calmly concluded and JoJo's head swam.

It made sense. Giorno's outrageous plan made a frightening amount of sense. Heavens, had he not insisted on repeating that the plan involved wrestling control of a criminal empire, JoJo would have completely agreed with the boy.

"Surely, there are… other ways you could go about ending the drug trade?" JoJo asked as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling awkward about him and Dio being crammed in Giorno's tiny room. "Say, you infiltrate their organisation —with great care for your personal safety of course!— and then gather enough evidence and report them to the police?"

Giorno's expression remained neutral as always, and JoJo wondered if that confused and distraught look the boy had given them when they first met had been a hallucination. "That would be useless. If Passione falls, new clans will form and fight each other for control of Naples, and there'll be another bloody Camorra war. If anything, it is fortunate that Passione has subsumed or eliminated any rival gangs, as they are the sole distributor of narcotics in the region."

JoJo found himself agreeing and that was exactly the problem.

"What about keeping the organisation together after the ban on drugs?" Dio, lounging next to JoJo, spoke up. "Surely such a drastic change will lead to a large decrease in profits. Following that, a rebellion."

JoJo looked up in agreement. _Finally, _Dio decided to back him up.

Giorno turned to Dio like a student in an oral exam. "I have already considered that. You are correct that I cannot ban all drug trade, but I am only interested in hard drugs. It's true that I don't know how big of a percentage they make in profit, but Passione has its hand in many pies, and many of these are underutilised. For those in Passione, I will try to not lower wages, though I probably will have to. In exchange, I will bring up the social cost of the drug trade, and generally try to persuade people to my side, starting from the capos and working down the ladder."

Good grief, Giorno kept making good points and JoJo couldn't come up with any counterarguments.

"And those that refuse?" Dio casually asked. "What will you do to the ones who will inevitably try to break away or try to smuggle underneath your nose?"

Giorno glanced at JoJo before staring back at Dio. "Then I will follow tradition."

What on earth did that mean?! And wasn't Dio supposed to be supporting him, not Giorno?

Dio must have understood what Giorno meant for he responded with an amused smile. "Ah, so you have thought this through. Excellent."

Blast it all, JoJo should have expected nothing less when it came to Dio and nefarious plans.

Dio leaned back with a toothy grin. "I have nothing more to add."

Giorno's gaze turned to JoJo and the man could only stare at the floor, his mind trying and failing to come up with reasons against becoming a mafia boss. "But… It's illegal."

Dio scoffed, while Giorno merely narrowed his eyes for a fraction of a second. "Many things are, Mr. Joestar. Some of them are necessary."

JoJo sighed and buried his face in his palms in defeat. An uneasy silence fell amongst them.

"…I am not asking for your permission," Giorno spoke up, making JoJo look up to see him with a hand on his heart. "My plans will go forward with or without your support. I've already taken the first steps and I will not stop now."

Though the words were new and heart-attack-inducing, the passion —and probably unintentional threatening tone— behind them was not. Dio often joked that JoJo was terrible at discerning motivations, and that was true when it came to most people. JoJo did however know exactly how Dio thought and what motivated him, as was natural after spending what felt like an eternity together. And now, JoJo could see phantoms of that motivation in Giorno, hints of a seemingly manic drive and obsessive desire despite a composed exterior. A blazing fire that would burn any obstacle in its path, for better or for worse.

_'But he wants to do something good. Just… in a very unconventional way.'_ Or, so JoJo hoped. He wasn't naïve enough to think Giorno wouldn't have to get his hands dirty —though he did wish things turned out that way— but at least JoJo could be there to make sure the boy had some positive influence and someone to tell him when he'd gone too far and remind him of the nobility of his goal.

Hopefully, that would be enough.

"Alright then," JoJo said with a sigh, though he feared his agreement was secondary to this whole arrangement. "And you don't have to call me Mr Joestar," he added as Giorno was about to say something.

"Thank you, Mr… Jonathan?"

"JoJo is fine," he replied with a smile.

The boy nodded though JoJo expected he would still insert a 'Mister' or 'Sir' in there somewhere.

"Must you stay in this tiny…" Dio's lips curled, "room? We have a booking at Grand Hotel Vesuvio, and they have vacancies."

Giorno gave him a polite nod. "Thank you, but I don't have the money—"

"We will pay the costs of course," Dio cut him off with a scoff. "Or rather the Speedwagon Foundation," his lips curled to a smirk, "something you should take advantage of…"

JoJo ignored the jab —he wasn't going to argue with Dio over Giorno staying in a nice place for a couple of nights— and tuned the conversation out.

...What on Earth were they doing? They came here to find Giorno, introduce themselves as family, not get dragged into criminal conspiracies.

Then again what had JoJo expected to happen? Giorno wasn't a child. He was young, a teenager, but he had a life here, something apparent from this plot they were now involved in.

Yet again, JoJo had expected Giorno had a life here in terms of family and friends, not this… lonely boarding school, with money for the fees coming from who knows where.

… They were many things about Giorno that they didn't know, JoJo realised. They had done very little in terms of background checks. Even their trip to Italy had been an improvised haphazard mess —Rohan being a guest speaker at a London convention was a godsend as Heaven's Door let JoJo speak Italian— so, even with all these hours spent thinking, JoJo still wasn't sure what they should do with Giorno.

Just as importantly, JoJo didn't know what Giorno thought of _them_. The most emotional JoJo had seen Giorno was during their first meeting, when the boy's mind made the connection between the resemblance and he rushed at them as if chasing after ghosts. He had heard a whispered _padre _in Dio's direction, but after that Giorno was all 'Mr Joestar' and 'Mr Dio' in unnerving politeness. Normal teenage boys weren't supposed to act like that, were they?

He had hoped after the initial shock Giorno would warm up and treat them more like his fathers, but how could he? How could the two of them call themselves his parents when they arrived so late in his life? Let alone the circumstances of his… conception. So far, Giorno had asked little and settled for a vague 'it's complicated' answer for now, but in the future...

"—And I don't want JoJo being worried sick over leaving you here undefended while you plan on taking on an entire mafia, he gets extremely annoying," Dio continued and JoJo wanted to protest accusations of being annoying, but found himself letting out a bitter sigh. "See, he is only going to get worse from here on out…"

"…Ok," Giorno finally agreed, "but I need to pack up a few things…"

And as they stood up to go wait outside for Giorno, JoJo spared one last glance at the boy. Small, lithe, with Dio's hair, JoJo's eyes, and an inexplicable solution to Naples' drug epidemic.

…He should have expected nothing less from their strange commingling of bloodlines. And he would help. He owed Giorno that much.

That was JoJo's plan now. He would aid his teenage son —part-son? Was that a thing?— in taking over Naples' criminal underworld.

\\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/

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